If YNAB’s method feels like a second job, pick an app that asks less of you. Copilot and Monarch sync your bank and categorise for you. Rocket Money hunts subscriptions. Spendee is simpler and cheaper outside the US. 6pm skips budgets entirely: spends are caught, you close the day in a minute, and get one daily number.
We make 6pm, so weigh this accordingly. Every fact about another app comes from its own App Store page or website, linked at the end, and we point out where each beats us.
First, be fair to YNAB
YNAB works. Its method is simple to say and hard to do: decide what every dollar is for before you spend it. People who stick with it often swear by it, and the app is excellent: iPhone, Android, web and Apple Watch, bank import in the US, Canada, the UK and the EU, goals, a loan planner and one subscription shared by up to six people. It costs $14.99 a month or $109 a year, with a 34-day free trial and a free year for students.
So why search for an alternative? Usually one of these:
- The ritual is heavy. Assigning money, reconciling, moving it between categories when you overspend. Fine on a Sunday. Not fine every day.
- The price. $109 a year is a lot to pay to feel guilty.
- You do not think in categories. You just want to know if dinner out on Thursday is okay.
If that is you, here are five apps that ask for less.
The five, side by side
| App | Effort | Bank sync | US price | Free tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copilot Money | Low: review what syncs | US only | $13/mo or $95/yr | No (1-month trial) |
| Monarch | Low to medium | Yes | Core $14.99/mo or $99.99/yr; Plus $199.99/yr | No (7-day trial) |
| Rocket Money | Low | Yes | Free; Premium in-app | Yes |
| Spendee | Medium | Yes | Plus $1.99/mo, Premium $5.99/mo on spendee.com (in-app prices vary) | Yes |
| 6pm | About a minute a day | No, by design | Free; Max $4.99/mo or $34.99/yr | Yes |
Prices as listed on 21 October 2026. Check before you subscribe.
1. Copilot Money: let the sync do it
Copilot connects to over 10,000 US institutions and has direct integrations for Venmo, Apple Card and Coinbase. AI sorts transactions into categories, budgets adapt and roll over, and recurring charges are spotted for you. It also tracks investments and net worth, on iPhone, iPad, Mac and the web.
Why a YNAB quitter might like it: most of the work is reviewing, not entering or assigning.
Where it beats 6pm: automatic US bank sync, Apple Card and Venmo included; investments; Mac and web.
Watch out for: US only, no free tier.
2. Monarch: the household dashboard
Monarch links accounts read-only, categorises automatically, and lets you choose flex or category budgeting. It adds net worth, investments, a bill and subscription calendar, and goals. A partner joins free with their own login, and both see every account and transaction. Web, iOS and Android.
Why a YNAB quitter might like it: you choose how strict the budget is.
Where it beats 6pm: the full household picture, investments, web and Android.
Watch out for: if you want to share savings but not every transaction, the all-in view may be more than you want.
3. Rocket Money: the lazy-but-effective option
Rocket Money’s free tier links accounts, tracks spending and finds your subscriptions. It can cancel them for you and negotiate some bills, charging 35% to 60% of the first year’s savings if it succeeds. Budgets, net worth and a credit score live there too.
Why a YNAB quitter might like it: the biggest win, cancelling things you forgot, takes almost no effort.
Where it beats 6pm: subscription cancelling, bill negotiation, credit score.
Watch out for: it is a tool for cleaning up, more than a way to decide day-to-day spending.
4. Spendee: simpler, cheaper, global
Spendee has shared wallets, category budgets, savings goals, an AI receipt scanner and many currencies, on iOS, Android and the web. The free plan covers one cash wallet and one budget; Plus is $1.99 a month on Spendee’s website, and in-app prices can differ.
Why a YNAB quitter might like it: lighter, cheaper, and it works well outside North America.
Where it beats 6pm: Android and web, shared wallets that everyone in the group sees.
5. 6pm: no budget, one number
6pm is for the person who never wants to see a category budget again. It replaces “give every dollar a job” with something smaller: pay future you first, then spend the rest evenly.
You tell it your pay, your bills and what you want to put aside (Future you, plus pots for things like a trip). Everything left is free money, spread evenly across the days to payday. Each morning you see one figure: Safe to spend today. Take home $3,200, set aside $1,180 for bills, $480 for pots and $352 for Future you, and $1,188 is free. With 22 days to payday, counting today, that is $54 a day.
You do not assign anything. Go big on Saturday and the days after shrink a little. Spend less and they grow.
Spends are caught for you all day: Apple Pay taps through a Shortcuts automation you set up once, receipt photos read on your phone, bank alert emails forwarded to your own 6pm address (Chase, Bank of America and Capital One all offer email alerts), voice (“dinner, forty dollars”), and a keypad for cash. At 6pm you swipe through the day: Keep, Edit or Not mine. The last card stamps it CLOSED. About a minute. Miss a day and nothing breaks; the spends wait and still count.
Before a big purchase, ask: “Can I afford $350 on Saturday?” Ask 6pm works out the answer on your phone from your own numbers and tells you what your days become.
Where 6pm is weaker than YNAB: no bank import, so a card swipe you never tap, photograph or forward needs typing. No web, Mac or Android yet. No loan planner, net worth or investment view. And 6pm has not launched yet (it reaches the App Store on 6 November 2026); YNAB has a long track record.
What it costs: the close, every capture method and Budget together (shared pots for two) are free. 6pm Max is $4.99 a month or $34.99 a year with a 7-day trial, for looks, unlimited Ask and pots, Travel mode, Year book and encrypted backup.
Which alternative fits you?
- You liked YNAB’s goals but hated the typing: Copilot (US) or Monarch.
- You want your partner in every account: Monarch.
- You mostly want to stop paying for things you forgot: Rocket Money.
- You are outside the US or on Android: Spendee.
- You want one number and a one-minute habit: 6pm.
For the bigger question of categories versus a single daily figure, see envelope budgeting vs one daily number.
FAQ
What is the easiest YNAB alternative?
The easiest is the one that asks least of you each day. Rocket Money and Copilot do most of the work through bank sync; 6pm asks for about a minute at the end of each day and gives you one number.
Is there a free alternative to YNAB?
Rocket Money, Spendee and 6pm have free tiers. 6pm’s free tier includes the daily close, every capture method and shared pots for couples.
Does 6pm use zero-based budgeting like YNAB?
No. 6pm sets bills, pots and Future you aside first, then spreads the rest evenly to payday. You never assign money to categories.
Can 6pm import my YNAB data?
No. 6pm starts from your current pay cycle. If you join mid-cycle, it asks roughly how much you have spent since payday.
Does 6pm connect to my bank?
No. It never asks for a bank login and cannot move money. We never store your transactions; they live on your iPhone, encrypted. No bank login.
Try 6pm
6pm arrives on the App Store on Friday 6 November 2026 at 18:00 Vietnam time (6:00 a.m. Eastern). Want it now? Join the public beta on TestFlight: testflight.apple.com/join/a8UrvT5P. More at at6pm.app.
Every spend, caught.
Sources (checked 21 October 2026): YNAB on the App Store, YNAB pricing, Copilot on the App Store, copilot.money, Monarch on the App Store, Monarch pricing, Monarch for couples, Rocket Money on the App Store, Rocket Money bill negotiation fee, Spendee pricing, Chase alerts, Bank of America alerts, Capital One security and alerts.